


Speak To Me

by litra



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Chiss Ascendancy (Star Wars), M/M, POV Alternating, Slow Burn, Soulmate first words, The explicit stuff is at the end., canon adjacent, non-human prejudice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2020-11-24 05:23:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20902328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litra/pseuds/litra
Summary: Thrawn never knew what the strange words on his skin meant until he left his home. That didn't stop him from wanting to hear them.Eli knew what his words were from the beginning. He hoped he never heard them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is not Thrawn: Treason compliant because I started writing it before Treason came out.

"The fleet?" Thrass asked. There was a note in his voice, not quite disapproving, certainly questioning.

Thrawn nodded. "You think it's such a strange idea?" Sitting in their small home he watched Thrass run through the various lines of logic in his mind. Thrass was never one to act before he thought things through. It meant that he was almost never caught unawares. It also meant that Thrawn was constantly annoyed by his brother's slowness as they'd grown up. He'd gotten better at waiting since he was a child. This time Thrawn was determined to wait his brother out. Thrass was the single most important person in his life. He wasn't going to push.

Thrass picked up the application and crossed to sit in the armchair he traditionally claimed. His eyes skimmed over the information too fast to properly read it. He already knew all of it in any case. Then Thrass's eyes paused at the end.

Thrawn hadn't signed it yet. 

"Why?" Thrass set the application on his knee and steepled his fingers. 

"Is honor for our family and a chance for a merit adoption not reason enough?"

"For someone else it would be. I know you are loyal to me as the last of our family, but you're never been interested in the game of politics."

"Not like you," Thrawn agreed. 

For the past two years Thrass had been working diligently through a number of universities and programs, trying to catch the attention of the Mitth clan. Only one of them needed to be adopted officially to get both of them a better life. If their positions were reversed, Thrass would have been content to wait and watch the field. Waiting to pick them both up, should his brother fall. But that was not Thrawn.

"Giving up your clan is not a hardship for an orphan." Thrass said, meandering slowly but steadily towards the heart of the matter. "And I will not deny that you have the talents of a warrior."

Thrawn only had the most basic of training, but that had never seemed to matter. Always in the past he had stood victorious over anyone who challenged him. The best anyone else could hope for was a draw. With proper training, Thrawn knew he could make a real impact. 

"Still," Thrass continued, "Can you honestly make the oath to put the Chiss people before yourself? Before the one who speaks to you?"

Thrawn didn't touch his arm, and the words waiting there under his clothes. He wanted to, but he'd been expecting the attack and was prepared. 

"The path of the warrior, and of the solder is hardly the only one that demands such a sacrifice." Thrawn countered, coming over to sit in his own chair beside and facing Thrass. "One's fate will be found whether one seeks it or not."

Thrass nodded slightly at the old saying, but didn't retreat. "And if you were to find out what your words said?"

Only then did Thrawn touch the inside of his sleeve. It was not common practice to display one's words, but he knew Thrass had seen the strange script, glimpsed it in the intimacy of home and safety. Now he rolled up his sleeve deliberately. As Thrass had said, the words were in no script known to the core of the Chiss Ascendancy. It wasn't Cheunh, nor some regional or historical dialect.

"A worrier must know himself as well as his enemy, and--" He pulled out another saying, one he knew would get under Thrass' skin, "If you wish to know someone, learn who speaks to them." 

The saying supposedly meant soulmates, but it was also used as a snide insult against the clanless. Thrass had been enduring such comments since he was a child, defending himself and Thrawn from something they had no hand in, and couldn't fight. In a way Thrawn's application to the military was another weapon in that battle. A valid reason for his lack of clan to anyone who did not know the history of the situation.

Thrass's reaction was what Thrawn had expected. He sat back, lifting his chin slightly and narrowing his eyes. He could see the trap, but that didn't make it any less effective. He picked up the page again, and glanced at it, before offering it back.

"I will not stand in your way, but I do ask that you do you're best to stay alive."

Thrawn took the application, and folded it carefully away. "I will."

\---

"As you also used that language with us." 

The words were in Sy Bisti. Eli was eight and spoke it as well as he did Basic. His parents said that it was a good skill, and that he should know how to speak the language of his soulmate. Eli agreed with them. Two of his friends also had words in Sy Bisti but he was the best at it. He thought he might even be better than his soulmate. He couldn't think of any other reason they would talk funny like that.

"You also used" sounded weird whenever Eli said it. Except for the time he pinched his nose and said it with a coreworld accent. He hoped his soulmate wasn't like that. He would love them anyway of course, but the people in the holos who talked like that weren't very nice. Unless they were some kind of princess. Then it would make sense. 

Eli nodded to himself. His soulmate would be a coreworld princess who got kidnapped and brought to the outer rim. Then he'd save her and they'd go on lots of adventures.

A month later he decided his soulmate wasn't going to be a princess she was going to be a pirate. Maybe she would attack one of his ships and he'd fight off all her men, until she had to come with him.

Then he decided that she was going to be a bounty hunter, because Toolie said that was just as good as a pirate, and a bounty hunter wouldn't attack his dad's ships. And also a bounty hunter would actually know Si Bisti where a coreworld princess would have a droid for that part. Malie had been the one to point out that bit. He'd said she wasn't his friend for a week before he admitted she was right. 

Then the Clone Wars started. For three months, Eli was absolutely certain his soulmate would be a pilot who got chased into the outer rim. Eli would have to rescue them and smuggle them away in his ship. Except there would be some vital piece of information that they had to deliver to someone important and... Then he saw the wreckage of a battle. Clones and droids floating in the black, drifting endlessly until the salvagers decided what was worth hauling away.

Eli was eleven years old. He decided he didn't want a soulmate, or at least not someone like that. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a situation with dubious consent in this chapter. Details in the end notes.

"Congratulations," Thrawn said. The new Admirals insignia was stiff on Ar'alani's uniform. Personally he thought the promotion was long overdue, but as a Commander he didn't have much say in the matter. 

Ar'alani nodded almost formally, and gestured for him to stand at ease. They were alone in her office, and they'd known each other for long enough that if they were off duty, he would have gladly sat.

"Admiral?" He asked instead. He'd been under the impression that this was a formal mission brief. Since his stunt with Outbound Flight a few years back he had been reminded at every turn that he was on thin ice. Thrass in particular liked to bring it up whenever Thrawn met with the Mitth family. 

"This is a voluntary mission," Ar'alani said.

Ah, so that was it. He relaxed, clasping his hands behind him instead of holding them rigid at his sides. Missions were only voluntary for one of two reasons: first, if there was some argument between the houses about how things should be done, or second, if the mission had a very low expected return rate. Ar'alani knew his opinion on the ruling houses, so it had to be the second.

The Admiral passed over the file. "You are aware of the Republic, of course."

Thrawn managed not to roll his eyes, "Yes."

"We have received news that they are at war."

"Oh? With whom?" His mind flashed to the Vagaari or the Grysk. If the nomadic slavers had attacked the republic, than perhaps the Chiss would be able to close the vise around them.

"Themselves," Ar'alani nodded at the file. "Apparently their politics have split into two, possibly three factions. Most of the fighting is in the areas they name as the mid and outer rim."

Thrawn frowned. There was a bit of a buffer between the outer rim and the unknown regions, but it wasn't as large as he'd like. Not if full combat was going to take place there. 

"The CEDF has asked for a volunteer to scout the edges of Republic space. The agent would learn all they could about the politics involved, the technology in use and the likelihood of an alliance. There are a few systems that have been marked as potential entry points." She nodded to the file.

Thrawn followed her gaze to the document in his hands. He could certainly see the dangers. Whoever took the mission would be alone in a war zone where every side was an enemy. Yet for him, the potential benefits far outweighed the risks. Even putting aside his words (still unspoken, despite several encounters with traders from the outer rim.) He was by far the best candidate. He spoke three trade languages, as well as a scattering of basic. He had personal experience with their Jedi warriors, as well as the faction that called themselves the trade federation. Success in a mission like this would do much to clear away the disapproval from his earlier actions.

"I would be honored to accept this mission Admiral."

Ar'alani pulled a bottle from the bottom drawer of her desk, and set two glasses out to match it. "I thought that would be your reaction." She didn't look happy as she poured and pushed the second glass in his direction.

Again he was caught off guard, "Ma'am?"

"Humor me. This might be the last time I see my friend in quite some time." The risks lay heavy behind her words. Thrawn took the glass, and sat.

"I wish to ask a rude question," she said when they had both sipped at their glasses silently for a few minutes. Thrawn hummed, inviting Ar'alani to continue. "The one who speaks to you..." She trailed off, as so many others had over the years.

"I have not met them." He looked down into the thick purple liquid. Then took a drink, letting it roll over his tongue. "Have you?"

She shook her head, "No one speaks to me. It is a blessing and a curse."

Thrawn nodded. He'd heard the rumors, but hadn't wanted to assume, not when there were just as many rumors about him.

"What language is it?" Ar'alani asked, and that really was rude, but in the moment he didn't care.

_"Or would Sy Bisti be better?"_ Thrawn said in perfect Sy Bisti. He'd had a motivating factor when studying the language, but even so he wasn't truly fluent. There simply wasn't anyone to teach him. Still, compared to Basic, his Sy Bisti vocabulary was vast.

Ar'alani was watching him. He repeated himself in Cheunh. She nodded. 

"Well at least they gave you the language, even if a name would have been simpler."

"Far simpler," Thrawn agreed, letting his head fall back. The drink was starting to affect him.

"What do you think they'll be like?" This time Ar'alani's voice held a hint of longing.

Thrawn considered the file in his lap, his drink, his superior officer... Then he took a breath and let all his hopes and fears pour fourth, like the alcohol in their glasses.

\-- 

Eli had thought it was a joke, or at most a formality when the application to the imperial academy had asked for his words. There wasn't any point in lying so he'd written them down and ignored the twinge as the paperwork was filed. He hadn't found his soulmate yet, and at some point he'd stopped actively looking. Too many of his friends had been unhappy when their dreams didn't materialize. Eli was going to live in the present.

Living in the present was both a lot easier and a lot harder once he got to Myomar. At some point in his teenage years the coreworld princess had changed to a coreworld prince, and there were a lot of reasonably handsome guys who happened to be single, and open to the occasional fling. Eli had a bit of a reputation as a flirt, but he didn't mind. He hadn't found anyone that he liked well enough to stay with for more than a night or two. He'd made sure everyone knew the score going in and had always parted on good terms. It was what he'd grown up with. He had uncles, aunts, and older cousins who did the same thing on nearly every planet they stopped at. Besides, everyone in the navy had stories from the academy. It didn't matter as long as you got your work done and were reliable when on shift.

Then the thing with Jr'ron happened.

Jr'ron was a big shot, at least for this backwater. his family owned a set of factories. He'd said over and over that he could have gone to Royal Imperial if he wanted to, but his mother wouldn't have been happy having him so far away. Eli rolled his eyes at that along with everyone else. Still he wasn't that bad when something pulled hi out of his head, so Eli hadn't complained when they'd been paired up for a set of command exercises.

"Want to practice after class some time?" Jr'ron had asked.

"Sure why not. The common room?"

Jr'ron scrunched up his nose, "And have everyone watching? No thank you. Which building are you housed in? No, it better be my rooms. After dinner? 1800?"

Eli shrugged, "com me the room." 

Jr'ron pushed the door shut as soon as Eli was through it that night. His hand landed on Eli's shoulder, pushing him against the wall and leaning in.

Eli's hands came up automatically, "whoa, what?"

Jr'ron rolled his eyes, "Come on, you've fucked at least half our class, and it's not like I actually need command practice. "He tried to lean in again.

"Hey, I'm not--" Eli turned his head away from the attempted kiss, "Can you give me a second here?"

Jr'ron met his eye for a second his gaze flat, then he finally took a half step back, one hand landing on his hip. "You can not seriously be this bad at this. I mean if nothing else you should have plenty of practice."

"I'm not sure I like what you're implying," Eli said crossing his arms.

This time the eye roll was accompanied by a put upon sigh, "It's not like I offered to pay you." He crossed to his bed and sat, letting his legs fall open. "Now come on already. Those lips will look so pretty around my cock."

"You-- you're serious?" Eli wasn't entirely sure he was actually seeing what he was seeing. Jr'ron had never flirted with him, never dropped any hints he was interested, and now this? Before Jr'ron could make another disparaging comment, Eli went on, "I've got to tell you your seduction skills need some work, because right now I'm not interested."

"What, do you suddenly have standards? You'll let Zatre fuck you, but not me? Or was I wrong before? Tell me, what is your price, a backwater trader brat has to know the worth of things right?"

"Kriff you." Eli palmed the door open, and shook his head as he marched back to his own room. He knew it was the right choice, to just leave rather than throw a punch, but stars, in that moment he just wanted to see Jr'ron's face with a black eye or a bloody lip. See the regret before Jr'ron built himself up again.

Over the next few days Eli was angry and frustrated by turns. He did his best to avoid Jr'ron over the next few days. Unfortunately that meant avoiding all of Jr'ron's friends and hangers on as well, which amounted to about half his year. HE couldn't avoid his classes of course and was stubbornly silent through the ones he shared with the other man. Otherwise he spent his time in his rooms, doing far more studying then he normally bothered with. Eli wasn't surprised when he failed the command exercises. He figured that would be it. Jr'ron's petty little way of getting back at him. Neither of them would mention it, and eventually it would be forgotten. 

He was wrong.

No one should have had access to his private personal file, but Jr'ron's family had money so it wasn't actually all that surprising. If he was honest with himself, Eli was more surprised that he was going to the trouble. There was nothing official that Jr'ron could do, but putting rumors in a few ears was enough. By the end of the term it was a public secret that Eli's words weren't in basic. The meaning behind it wasn't as clear since nothing about soulmates was 100%, but it was generally accepted that his match wasn't human, and even in the outer rim that meant something in the Empire. 

People who had formerly given him friendly looks, now sneered at him in the hallways. The few friends he still had were quiet and apologetic, but in the end unhelpful. Eli figured he was lucky he was only trying to be a supply officer, because if Jr'ron had anything to say about it, he would never have his own command.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the academy Eli is propositioned by another student. the student expects sex because of Eli's reputation. Eli ends up leaving before anything happens but it's an uncomfortable situation with some unfortunate consequences.


	3. Chapter 3

Thrawn stood at attention in front of the council of ruling families and CEDF brass. His actions with General Skywalker had been met with mixed responses. The destruction of an entire planet had caused many to flinch away from the idea of an alliance with the Republic even without Thrawn's assessment stating as much. Those thoughts rose again now when looking at this fledgling Empire. He wondered if they had finally made a decision.

Looking over at his brother's form, standing behind the Syndic of house Mitth, something in Thrawn's chest tightened. Thrass was ignoring the muttering around him for once. His eyes were fixed on Thrawn, not Ar'alani, who was nominally in charge of the project (though he had been the one to suggest it) or any of the other three who would be involved in the implementation. Thrass's expression was guarded, but Thrawn knew his brother. He was worried. There was both longing and despair in Thrass's eyes.

Thrawn held himself at attention, while running through the options in his mind. He thought he had covered all the angles. Was there some political event that he was unaware of? Had someone brought up his tenuous record, or how this had all started? Would they discard the project all-together or simply change it until it was unrecognizable and ineffective?

Lost in his own thoughts, Thrawn missed the moment when the first ruling family representative stood and started to speak. He quickly drew himself back to the moment.

"Exile."

Ah, that was why.

Thrawn held to the rigid military posture as the speaker got on with the formalities. Exile had been one of the contingencies, though not the one he had preferred. It left too much room enemy action. If he was not discovered by the empire's military forces... If the commanding officer who did find him denied him access to their chain of command, or simply had him killed... If the emperor saw him as an enemy agent (there were rumors that the emperor had some of the same powers as the Jedi, and if Skywalker was anything to go by his skill would only grow as he aged and learned)... Even if all else went to plan, he could be assigned to the far reaches of the empire or stuck on their capital world, with no opportunity to report back, and even less access to extraction if it was needed. It wasn't as if he could pass the duty off to anyone else. Thrawn knew he was the only viable candidate for this particular strategy.

The speaker finished and opened the floor to questions. It was a formality, and no questions were actually expected but Thrawn stepped forward. 

"What name am I to be exiled under?" In the corner of his vision he saw Thrass's head jerk in surprise.

For a true Exile he would be stripped of his family name, the name Thrass had worked so hard to earn for them both. Thrawn had forgone any of the privileges of his clan name while serving the defense fleet but his name was something else. If he was stripped on his name then even if he did return, he would be clanless, without family or honor. If they took his name no one would feel the glory of his success, or the shame of his failure.

If their true motive was to see him dead and forgotten then that would be the way to do it, but in asking he had forced their hand. It would have to be on the record now, one way or the other. This at least he could give to his brother. A proper goodbye, if that was to be his fate.

"You will go to the Empire as Mitth'raw'nuruodo," The speaker allowed. He too glanced over to the members of the eighth ruling family. Neither Thrass nor their clan-sister spoke.

Thrawn nodded, "Thank you Syndic," And stepped back to his former position.

Coming home would be an option, if not a likely outcome.

\--

Eli was more grateful than he could say when the yearly break came around. Stepping off the transport onto Lysatran soil, he breathed deep. He was still in the city so it wasn't like the air was fresh, but it wasn't recycled which counted for a lot. he could hear a hundred different voices, laughing and arguing and teasing, all full of life the way the military wasn't. Not that he regretted joining the navy...

Mostly he just regretted that his time at Myomar had turned so sour. Jr'ron had graduated a year ahead of him, but the damage had been done. 

Eli walked back to his family's home rather than catching a cab. He'd grown up traveling across this whole stretch of the outer rim, but the small hanger where his family's three ships were docked and the set of rooms over where they ran the business were what he considered home. His parents were finalizing a deal off planet and would be back tomorrow so there wasn't any rush. Turning the corner he saw that the offices were actually open and paused. He couldn't see any of the ships from here, but it was possible that his parents had finished up early.

A chime sounded in the back when he pushed open the door, and for a minute he was flooded with a hundred familiar little things. The souvenirs from nearby worlds, lined up on a shelf, the pictures of the ships on the walls, the old desk that had been worn smooth by hundreds of hands on the surface.

"Hello, what language may we use with you?" an unfamiliar voice asked in Sy Bisti.

Eli tensed. They weren't his words, but it had been a long time since he'd heard the trade language, and they were close enough to hit home.

"Basic, if you don't mind," Eli answered, turning to face the speaker.

The young man was his own age, a little bit taller, a little bit leaner, wearing a spacer's jumpsuit with grease under his fingernails. His smile was crooked, and self deprecating, "Thank god, my Sy Bisti is terrible, but the boss says I'll be dead without, so I've been trying to practice."

"If you mean Captain Vanto, then he's right. He's also my dad, by the way. I'm Eli." He offered his hand with his own half smile. He didn't want to seem like he was pulling rank, but he didn't want to mislead him either.

"Oh, krif, is it the fourth already? Yeah, they told me to expect you. I'm Hal."

Hal, it turned out, was the new guy his parents had hired to help out since Eli had left. He was part mechanic, part slicer, part loading droid by his own description. Eli liked him immediately. He was easy to talk to, friendly in a casual way that Eli hadn't seen in a while. Even when his parents returned there wasn't any rivalry or animosity like he'd dreaded. It was comfortable.

At some point during the week, the little 'what if' thoughts had started to gather. What if they had been soulmates? Eli would still go back to the Navy at the end of the week, and he needed to update his paperwork in any case. It wasn't like the Empire would care about one junior officer's partner. They only asked for soulmate information because they asked for information on everything. Eli had heard one morbid rumor that it was to help identify bodies. Privately he thought it was to avoid conflicts of interest. An officer's first post was never in their home system. It wasn't like anyone would know. besides, officers with soulmates were said to be more settled, and reliable.

He didn't ask Hal's permission. He didn't mention it to his parents. IT was just a little bit of paperwork. Updating his home address, his certifications, checking the little box, saying he had found his soulmate, and filling in Hal's name in the following box. It would be a firm end to any rumors, that was the important thing. If anyone asked, he had a cute little story to tell, about Hal stumbling over his words...

The update went into the system, and Eli got his new assignment: Join the scouting party aboard the SD Strikefast.

\--


	4. Chapter 4

There were three among the landing group who seemed to have some knowledge of Sy Bisti, but only one who spoke with any degree of fluency. Thrawn watched the last as the empire troops formed a perimeter around his makeshift home from the last few weeks. The commanding officer was easy to pick out among them. The primary translator remained near him for most of the initial survey.

Thrawn noted the translator primarily because he stood apart from the others, but also as the most likely to speak to him when the time came. They had rich brown skin, deeper then most of the other humans Thrawn had encountered, possibly indicating a different planet of origin. The difference in accent when he spoke basic supported the hypothesis. His other features were not outside the realm of the expected: even brown hair in a military cut, average height and a build that suggested physical competence without a depth of training. His uniform set him apart however. Instead of the standard black, or olive green, his was a flat gray with no insignia on the chest. Possibly he was a specialist, or someone outside the typical chain of command. Thrawn did not think he was a civilian contractor, but it was possible.

While Thrawn could not completely follow the conversation, the superior’s tone suggested disrespect. In contrast the other technicians spoke to the translator without hesitation or formality. This supported the theory that he was in a different chain of command. Thrawn would need more information before he could tell if it was a sign of the leader's bias or not. The translator did not seem bothered by it, which suggested the attitude was normal or expected.

When Thrawn was content that he had the lay of the land, he set about implementing his trap. A com unit was easy enough to obtain. The use of the animals was a risk, but he had studied their mannerisms, and was content that it was a small one. He regretted the deaths of the pilots, and the troopers, but they were necessary. He very much doubted that this new empire would take him seriously if he did not prove himself with blood. Getting into the ship was relatively simple. The waiting, less so.

For all his study of the empire, Thrawn knew next to nothing about this ship, and this commander. Parick and Barris were the two names Thrawn had heard, but his limited basic had kept him from knowing which was which. Neither name was known to him in any case. How long to wait? Would they seek him out? How long until they recognized his presence, if they hadn't already? He did not want it to look like he was hiding. That would be a defensive position, and he needed to keep the initiative.

When three hours had passed and the ship had not gone to lightspeed, Thrawn decided to act.

He stepped out of the ship, looking around with as little noise as he could manage. There were several heat signatures in a dark room off the hanger. So they were waiting for him. Better give them something to do then...

Thrawn crept over to the shuttles. There was no way to depart with the hanger closed and he was unfamiliar with the technology in any case. Instead he studied his surroundings and waited for capture. Springing the trap on his own terms.

A man with the bars of rank on his chest stood waiting when the storm troopers escorted Thrawn into the open. As he had expected the translator was there as well, with the commander from the ground and a technician. The commanding officer projected an air of control. Thrawn matched his posture and let his eyes trail over the ship instead, taking in what he could from the limited architecture.

"Welcome aboard the --- star destroyer -- --fast. Do you speak basic?" the officer asked in basic. It was easier to pick out more of the words here where he could see the speaker, rather than over coms, but he still wasn't as fluent as he'd like.

Thrawn was still puzzling out the unknown words when the translator spoke in Sy Bisti, "Or would be Sy Bisti be better?"

Thrawn was caught by the familiar words in the unfamiliar accent. He had known the likelihood of meeting his speaker was much higher now that he was in the Empire, but the first person he spoke to? A translator, who would hold his words...

The man had flinched. The officer was unhappy with him. Because he had spoken without a command to do so? What was the purpose of a translator if not to translate? Perhaps the officer wished to test him, before offering the option?

"You asked him -- he spoke Sy Bisti I --?" the officer asked. His tone had returned to an even note.

"Yes sir. My -- captain. I just thought... The stories all say that the Chiss use Sy Bisti in their--"

"The what?" The captain interrupted.

"The Chiss," The translator answered. There was heat rising to his face and he did not meet his captain's eye. "They're a-- well, they've always been thought of as a wild space --"

With the repetition there could be no mistake. This translator knew of his people. It made more sense for him to be Thrawn's speaker if so. 

The captain was eyeing him as he responded, "Have they now. It would -- they are a bit more -- then that. But I -- you were saying?"

"Just that in the stories, the Chiss used Sy Bisti in their dealings with us." 

The translator glanced at him. Thrawn met his eyes and spoke. If they truly were a match, this would show it. "As you also used that language with us." He used Sy Bisti rather than risk stumbling through basic. The translator tensed, pulling back slightly before moving to cover his reaction. His fists clenched, and his left arm curled in towards his chest. He licked his lips, glanced at his superior officer.

"Do you speak basic?" He asked, again in Sy Bisti."

"I understand some, Thrawn allowed, "But I'm more comfortable with this one."

Thrawn's Speaker turned and translated, making no mention of Thrawn's words or what they meant for him. Privately Thrawn was grateful. He needed time to think and observe the other, before he could work this into his plans somehow. With those few words his path had changed.

The captain demanded his name. Thrawn took a moment to look over the area again, centering himself in what he knew of the man and imperial culture.

"Mitth'raw'nuruodo, but I believe it would be easier for you to call me Thrawn."

\--

Eli left the briefing with his new orders and walked straight to the nearest fresher. He sealed the door behind him, turned on the water and focused on not screaming. 

Thrawn.

A Chiss.

By the stars, it was every bad rumor and jibe come to life. What had he done to deserve this? Had Thrawn realized? Of course he had, everyone paid attention to that kind of thing... If Chiss even had soulmates. That was a thought. It wasn't impossible that Thrawn said said his words but wasn't his other half. That happened sometimes, especially with people who had common words. Except Eli's words weren't common.

Kriff.

He splashed some water on his face and looked into the mirror. At least he didn't look as panicked as he felt.

He needed to talk to Thrawn. He needed to tell him not to say anything. If he did Eli's lie would be found out. At the very least he'd be reprimanded. He might even end up with a dishonorable discharge. They couldn't put him under investigation, could they? Thrawn wasn't an enemy agent. He was just an exiled castaway.

Eli would tell Thrawn not to say anything. He'd convince him, whatever it took.

Eli left the fresher, clinging desperately to the only plan he could think of. He'd been given access to Thrawn's quarters, but it was already late enough that the Chiss might be asleep. He hesitated, but in the end decided he didn't want to look too eager by heading straight there, not after protesting to the higher ups.

The bunk room he shared with the other cadets felt both claustrophobic and too cold. The sounds of the others gossiping about their guest my Eli's face get hot. Even when everyone had settled down, their breathing sounded overly loud, mixing with the background hum of the engines to fill his mind with static.

His soulmate. Thrawn was his soulmate. He had found him. Eli's brain kept circling around that one thought. Every time he closed his eye's the Chiss's red gaze appeared in his minds eye. The casual way he stood, even when wearing scraps of fir and surrounded by blasters. It was hauntingly close to the pirate-bounty hunter-prince he'd imagined as a kid. 

That thought of course pulled up others. Fantasies of hands and mouths and whispered names in the dark. He had a lot more experience now, then when those teenage daydreams had first been created. Worse he had a face to go with them. Eli bit his lip to keep from making any sound and rolled over, trying to smother himself with his pillow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't clear the dashes in the dialogue in Thrawn's section are places where he doesn't know the vocabulary. I was being a bit experimental. Let me know if it worked. :)


	5. Chapter 5

Thrawn was locked in. This was unsurprising. At least he was in what was clearly designed as comfortable officer or guest quarters rather than a cell. there was a main room, a fresher, and a separate room with a bed. The furniture was identifiable, if not what he was used to. The bed in particular was strange to his senses, soft and hard by turns, with differing layers of fabric and not curved at all. He had known there would be things along that vein to get used to.

Thrawn did his best to settle in as the ship went into it's night cycle. A droid brought food, but otherwise he was left alone. He wondered when Cadet Vanto would come to him.

Eli Vanto. While the captain had been ready to introduce himself, the others had been less forthcoming. Thrawn had had to ask for his speakers name. The voice from his heart told him that shouldn't be the way of things, but this was not his land. Eli Vanto had given his name when asked, and that would be enough. He mouthed the name to himself, keeping his voice silent.

It was a gift, he decided. For all he had given up, he had at least gained this.

Eli Vanto came to him the following morning, following the droid that brought his meal. Thrawn set the covered tray aside and stood to properly greet his speaker. He reached for his sleeve, to offer proof if needed, but Eli held up a hand.

"Wait," he said in basic, then repeated himself in Sy Bisti, "Wait. I need to talk to you and I--" he broke off and looked around the room, there were creases on his forehead. His mouth pinched. Eli circled, moving from one feature to the next.

"If you are looking for the cameras and listening devices, I have already removed them," Thrawn said, still in Sy Bisti. He was fairly sure he had found all the cameras, but microphones could be smaller and he might not have recognized unfamiliar technology.

Eli Vanto startled for a moment, turning to face Thrawn with wide eyes. "You, what?"

"I do not fault your superiors from wanting to know about me, but I prefer not to be watched every second. I assume they will have other measures put in place soon, so for the time being perhaps we should continue using Sy Bisti."

Eli Vanto ran a hand through his hair, "Too much Si Bisti will just make them nervous."

Thrawn nodded, accepting the point.

"What brings you here?" Thrawn asked in basic.

Eli bit his lip. He looked away, and ran a hand through his hair. "I've been assigned as your translator until we get to Coruscant. I'm supposed to teach you basic too, but I've never been a teacher before so I'm not sure how good I'll be."

"I'm sure you will do fine." Thrawn switched to Sy Bisti, "And our match?"

Eli Vanto tensed, then visibly relaxed. "Yeah, that's the other thing. You can't tell anyone about that. As far as anyone here knows, my soulmate is back on Lysatra, working for my dad's shipping company."

"You lied about your speaker?" Thrawn was so shocked that he nearly spoke in Cheunh, only remembering to use Sy Bisti at the last moment. Such a thing was unheard of. Well, no, there were stories, but always it was to protect the speaker, to hide them from some enemy. Thrawn himself might have been in a position to lie, but he was the one in enemy territory. Eli Vanto was under no such pressure, at least to his knowledge. Eli Vanto being a spy as well would be a fantastical story, and too far fetched to be believed.

"Yeah, well--" Eli rubbed at the back of his neck, eyes darting around the room again. "The navy doesn't like non-humans, okay? And my having Sy Bisti words... well I'm not influential or rich and I don't have any friends who are. No one speaks Sy Bisti in the navy. How was I supposed to know you were going to show up right before I graduated?"

Muscles clenched in his arms, and his balance kept shifting as if he was keeping himself from pacing.

"I see..." Thrawn said quietly. He wasn't sure he completely understood the reasons, but he understood the choice that had been made. "And you wish me to hide our relationship?"

"Yes, just say your soulmate is back on your home planet or something. Can you do that?"

Thrawn looked at Eli Vanto for a long minute, then nodded slightly, "If you ask it of me. I will do so."

Cadet Vanto let out a breath. His shoulders sagged as he lowered himself onto the couch. "Right, thank you."

Thrawn nodded, and settled into a chair of his own. He had a wall in his head, carefully constructed and diligently maintained. Behind that wall he put all thoughts of his brother. His people, though not the duty to his people. His home and everything he had done to earn it. His name and all the love and loyalty that had come with it, all lived behind that wall.

Now he added the name Eli Vanto.

Cadet Vanto could be studied as an asset or an ally, but Eli Vanto and the possibilities that name carried could not be considered or examined. That path had been closed. Thrawn would respect Cadet Vanto's choice in this matter.

"If you are to be my teacher, than we should begin," He said in basic. "If you speak I will do my best to follow. A story from your home? I will ask about any words I do not know."

Cadet Vanto leaned back in his chair. He frowned, tipping his head to one side. "A story. Okay, I guess I could do that. I'm not much of a story teller but I'll do my best. What kind of story do you want to hear?"

"You told your Captain you knew stories of the Chiss. I would learn what your people say."

Cadet Vanto shrugged, hummed, then began to speak. Thrawn steepled his hands in front of him and listened, letting the words carry away any lingering emotions that he could not let himself feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news everyone. I finished this thing! Not quite sure how I'm going to spit up the chapters yet, but there will be uninterrupted content for the next few weeks, until it's all posted. Which means I'm off to reread the books.


	6. Chapter 6

Eli put his bag down on his new bed. The last twelve hours had seemed to fly by. Arriving at Coruscant, meeting the Emperor, being reassigned to Royal Imperial, meeting with Deenlark, and now here he was, in a split double with Thrawn, and a new set of classes in the morning. He looked around. The split double consisted of a main room with a pair of desks and a small couch. The two rooms attached to it were technically bigger than on shipboard, but not by much. Each had a bunk and storage built in. The shared fresher was rudimentary, but certainly serviceable. Eli had lived on ships half his life so he didn't mind the lack of space. It was the fact that he was there at all that had his brain producing static.

Coruscant. He thought he might end up here at some point. Most ships made it in to the core at some point, assuming he was assigned to a ship and not a base, but that had been before. Before Thrawn. Before his world had been turned upside down. Twelve hours ago they had been entering orbit. Eli had thought that was going to be the end of things.

Eli slumped onto his bed, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

"Cadet Vanto?" Thrawn stood back-lit in the doorway. Eli still had trouble reading his expression, all the normal signals were muted, and his body language was stilted at best, but Eli thought Thrawn looked concerned. Well, good, he should be more than concerned. All of this was his fault.

"What? You need something explained?" it came out sour, and Eli told himself he didn't care.

"No. I wish to..." he switched to Sy Bisti, "apologize for not consulting you in this change."

Eli rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. He wanted to hate Thrawn. He certainly deserved this apology, but he was tired, and anger was exhausting.

"Fine," Eli said in basic.

Thrawn didn't move, his glowing red eyes creating shadows from his features. "I need you," He said barely above a whisper. "Just for now, I still need you."

Eli bit the inside of his cheek. Was he meant to hear that? Was he supposed to respond? What did Thrawn mean, he needed him? There were plenty of better translators, and it wasn't like Thrawn even really needed a translator anymore. Eli hadn't done much teaching but Thrawn's basic was much better regardless. It was mostly a matter of vocabulary at this point.

Thrawn turned, retreating to the fresher. Eli heard the water turn on through the wall. He shoved his bag onto the floor. He should get up and put everything away. He should take a shower once Thrawn was done, and maybe take a look at a campus map or his schedule or any of the hundred other things that he'd need to familiarize himself with. Barring any of that he should at least get out of his uniform before letting sleep take him.

Somewhere in the distance the water turned off. A minute later the light in the main room shut of too. Laying there in the dark Eli felt very alone and very far from home. He curled in on himself, the slight ridges of his words pressed against his chest, painful and comforting all at once.

  
  


\--

  
  


Thrawn's apology was sincere. That did not mean he wouldn't do it again. He needed Cadet Vanto as an asset and ally. Already in the first few hours of their assigned schooling he had proved himself invaluable. The fact that Vanto himself failed to see it was vexing. Thrawn spent the majority of the first month watching Vanto as much as the other cadets. Vanto's responses would often give context to unfamiliar situations. Which idioms were insults and which were simply references. Which insults could be ignored and which were dangerous.

(The fact that this gave him the excuse to watch his speaker... A man who he was quickly growing to respect, even if he could not call him a friend... That was simply happenstance.)

Eli was far more intelligent then he gave himself credit for. IT was true that he did not have the training to think tactically, but his skill with numbers and patterns did not end with supply. Eli brushed off his navigational and vector piloting skill by saying he'd grown up helping with his family's shipping business. He denied his social grace entirely. His skill with language went unremarked upon even while demonstrating it every day.

When Vanto fell asleep on the couch in their shared common room, tablet on his chest and uniform askew Thrawn couldn't help but follow the ling on his limbs and the curls of his hair. He didn't let himself wonder often, It was too much of a risk and each time it was harder to rebuild his wall, but on those long nights, Thrawn thought that Eli's lips looked very soft. He followed the patterns of freckles across Eli's cheeks and nose, then closed his eyes, and reminded himself that this was Cadet Vanto, not Eli.

He would respect his speaker's choice.

These musings often led to long nights practicing stick fighting or unarmed combat. Most of the time the physical effort was enough to wear him down, to clear his head. Help him refocus on what he was meant to do.

Then came the night of the cards and the fight and Thrawn made a completely unreasonable mistake.

They were crossing the commons. Coruscant was never silent and the night was never black, even so it was enough for the attackers to be confident of their approach.

"A step ahead or to the side. When an attack comes it is usually best to be out of the target zone, if possible. Thus allowing the energy of the attack to be dissipated elsewhere." Thrawn was only half focused on the conversation. The three heat signatures had come around the side of the building. They could have been simply passing down the same path, but their steps gave them away.

"Yes, I can see how that would be handy." Cadet Vanto was unaware of the attackers, eyes fixed on the path ahead.

Stepping to the side would put Vanto between himself and the enemy. That would force them to engage and leave their flank open to a counter attack. Another option was to alert Vanto to the threat either verbally or with gestures. Cadet Vanto's response would likely tip their hand, and alert the enemy. Neither option was ideal.

For possibly the first time in his life Thrawn ignored all rational tactics. He turned to his companion, crouched slightly, and shoved.

Vanto was still talking and was caught off guard, "Though I guess you can --" his words cut off with a surprised yelp as he went over the hedge.

The effort had brought Thrawn closer to the ground. Too tempting a target to be ignored. They came at him in tandem. Thrawn blocked the first strike. The second landed in his side. Thrawn staggered, desperate to keep his balance. The third kicked at his legs. Thrawn twisted out of the way, but it left him open to the first of them. This attack came at his face. Thrawn leaned back protecting his eyes and sliding away from the punch. The second attacker grabbed his arm. Thrawn twisted to avoid an arm lock. He didn't see the third attacker until it was too late.

He had failed to take control of the situation and he went to the ground because of it, the punch to his gut making him gasp. Even on his knees he tried to keep up his defense. This was the end of it. He had sacrificed his own position to ensure Eli -- Vanto -- Eli was out of the line of fire. In doing so he had sacrificed himself and his mission. It was stupid and careless and shortsighted and he likely wouldn't have time to regret the decision.

"Hey! Hey, you! Bright eyes!" Eli's outer rim accent came out of the dark beyond the hedge making Thrawn's heart seize up in his chest. This had been his chance to get away--

Two of Thrawn's attacker's looked up in time to get a shower of gravel in their faces. They clearly hadn't expected the unorthodox attack. It redirected their focus, and they turned away from Thrawn.

Thrawn focused on the last of them, throwing all his weight behind a strike just below the enemy's knee. The man cried out, and fell back. His friends turned, wavering between the new threat and the opponent they thought had been dealt with.

"Hey," someone called from nearby. Thrawn spared enough attention to note the group of five more cadets who had come from inside a nearby building. They started into a run, coming closer. Thrawn braced himself, wondering if the night would cover his identity or if the newcomers would join on the enemy's side. Then the moment broke and the three attackers turned, fleeing into the dark.

Thrawn pushed himself to his feet, breathing heavily. A quick self-assessment revealed a slit lip, what might be bruises or might be a cracked rib on his right side, a twisted ankle and assorted scrapes and cuts that would benefit from bacta but weren't life-threatening. By the tie he was done, Cadet Vanto had clambered over the hedge and was talking to their rescuers.

According to Vanto's commentary the attackers had come out of nowhere. No, they didn't know who they were, but they had been wearing cadet uniforms. The situation was unthinkable, and unprofessional. If it could happen to them, who was next? And against a superior officer too! Thrawn hadn't removed the Lieutenant's plaque thankfully, and that seemed to be the thing that decided the newcomers.

They passed it up the chain.

The dorm supervisor they found took one look at Thrawn's bloody uniform, clearly visible once they entered the building, and passed it up the chain again.

Cadet Vanto stood between Thrawn and the others, repeating his story at volume, and with anecdotal embellishments whenever someone hinted they might be in the wrong or were asking for something like that to happen. Thrawn was content to lean against a wall and dab at his lip until the bleeding stopped. By that point it was clear the incident would get all the way to the commandant. Thrawn had some ideas on that front, once their attackers were found.

It was the first time Thrawn had seen Vanto take control of a situation, and the other man didn't even seem to realize it. He gave the other for someone to fetch a nurse and a med-kit with a casual authority that had the others obeying without thought. He zeroed in on anyone who looked doubtful or hesitant and gave them something to do, sending most of them off to survey the area, or send messages, things that would both make them feel useful and get them out of the way. When reporting to superior officers he was clear and precise, repeating himself as many times as was necessary for them to understand that he would not be cowed into changing his story.

Then they were summoned to Deenlark's office and Vanto fell in at his side, as demure as any aid, surrendering his authority to Thrawn as if it was his right.

Thrawn was painfully reminded that if not for Vanto the other cadets likely wouldn't have come out of the building. Vanto entering the fight when he had, had saved him worse injuries, if not his life.

Thrawn had made a mistake. If his will had been stronger... He should have treated Vanto like the ally he was. He had let his emotions cloud his judgment and they had both ended up in worse positions because of it. Vanto had managed to salvage the situation with next to no help from him.

A quiet thought from the back of his mind whispered that he should have trusted Eli for an entirely different reason.

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Eli looked down at the form on his datapad. There was a surprising amount of paperwork involved in graduating. Most of it was standard, but this... Preferred Assignment, was emblazoned across the top of the form. A few months ago, before Thrawn, he'd have been able to list the exact posting he could reasonably get, right down to the type of ship and patrol area. Now...

It wasn't even like the form was a guarantee. Normally by graduation cadets, instructors, and superior officers had a good idea of where someone's talents lay. This last form was just the official way a cadet could give their preference.

He'd been on the supply track for three years. Technically he was still on the supply track. It wasn't like there was an official translator track. There was a track that had people becoming aids, but it was a branch of the leadership track and you generally had to know the right people to make that work. He wasn't connected like that, and frankly didn't want to be. Eli hated the idea of being someone's lackey, bowing and scraping and kissing his superiors boots in hopes of getting some undeserved recognition.

All of that meant that Navy command would be stupid to assign him anywhere other than a supply post.

Eli pushed the datapad away and rubbed at his eyes. Most of the final tests were finished by this point. Eli had one Supply related test the following afternoon, which he wasn't worried about, and Thrawn had finished his last final that only a few hours ago. He shouldn't be as stressed as he was. A week from now he'd be stepping onto a new ship with a new assignment. A new home for the next two years. Looking around Eli realized how little impact he'd had on his current set of quarters.

There were a few holos set up on his dresser. A Lysatran charm for luck and good dreams above his bed. All his texts were standard issue. All his clothing and equipment was technically his, but since it had come from Navy supply it didn't really count. Thrawn hadn't made any bigger impact than he had, but at least that was because he hadn't had anything to begin with. Once they were on their assigned ships, there would be nothing left to show he and Thrawn had even been assigned this room.

"How do you think you did on your tests?" Eli asked just to break the silence.

Thrawn looked up from where he was looking at art holos on his bed. "Well enough. I suspect my answers were not the standard ones, but they should be enough to satisfy."

Eli snorted agreement. Nothing about Thrawn was standard. "Any plans for the next few days?"

Thrawn considered him. Eli had almost gotten used to the red glowing gaze by that point.

"Nothing of note," Thrawn answered. "Do you have any plans once your final exam is finished?"

Eli shrugged, "Sleep. I know I should take advantage of being here. Coruscant's got plenty of things to do and see, and it's not like we've had time to play tourist."

Thrawn's eyes narrowed, "Tourist?"

Eli translated on reflex.

Thrawn nodded. "I see, there are a few museums I wouldn't mind visiting, but often the pieces presented say more about the one who put together the collection than the artist."

Eli hummed. By now he knew of Thrawn's interest in art, though for the life of him he couldn't understand it.

The silence settled in again, except this time Thrawn was watching him. Eli fiddled with his stylus. He glanced back at his datapad and the form waiting for his input, then away.

"Are you having trouble studying?" Thrawn asked.

Eli ran a hand through his hair, "No it's just-- I think I need a break. You want anything from the commissary?"

"Thank you, no."

Eli could feel Thrawn's eyes on him all the way to the door. It was late enough that Eli didn't run into anyone as he made his way through the buildings. Security had been tightened since they had been attacked.

Thrawn was in the fresher when Eli returned, and he was secretly grateful. He changed, then cleaned up a bit as he waited for his own turn. It wasn't until the datapad he'd picked up beeped, that he realized it wasn't his. Thrawn's pad wasn't even locked. Sure they were in their own rooms but he really needed to be more careful. Eli started to put it on Thrawn's desk, then he caught a few lines of text and froze.

He was looking at the same Prefered Assignment form that he'd been working on himself earlier, except this one was filled out. Thrawn was requesting to be stationed on a _Arquitens_-class light cruiser. It wasn't a bad choice for a first assignment. Not so lofty that it would be dismissed outright and it would be easy to move up the ranks. Plus the Arquitens were assigned all over the empire so there's be a good chance of actually seeing action. Thrawn would probably like that.

Eli locked the datapad, putting it back down on Thrawn's bed. He had no idea how Thrawn could be so confident, so certain. Just being on Coruscant had Eli tripping up practically every day. He was constantly reminded that he didn't belong, the fool who didn't know his lines but somehow had to stumble forward anyway. 

Thrawn came out of the Fresher, and Eli took his place. He crawled into bed without completing the form. The next day he was too distracted by his final exam. He kept avoiding it, until the deadline slipped by. It was irresponsible, but at least the form wasn't required.

  
  


\--

  
  


Three months of dedicated learning had given Thrawn a solid grasp of the Empire's structure even if he still did not grasp all the cultural influences between the various worlds. Coruscant in particular was something of a melting pit after so many years as the seat of power. Thrawn could have easilly studied the psychological changes rooted in and around the clone wars for years to come. That was however, not his mission.

He was in a position to move up the ranks of the Empire's military, now he needed to actually do so. 

As the date of graduation drew closer, Thrawn found himself considering his position. The saying went that: a little knowledge was a dangerous thing. In the CEDF he could move up on merit and his own skill, but the empire didn't weigh things the same way. If they did, Eli Vanto would be in the command track. He would not be shunned simply because of his origin, and accent. The same was true for Thrawn of course, but he had expected that much. The Ascendancy distrusted outsiders nearly as much as the Empire distrusted non-humans.

No, Thrawn knew just enough to recognise that alone he would fall into the trap of the Empire's bureaucracy. Vanto had warned him of it often enough... And there were no other candidates who could be trusted to stand beside and aid him in avoiding these traps. Any other cadets from Royal Imperial would have a prejudice against him. It was too high a risk to trust to a lower officer he might chance to meet once he received his assignment. No other sentient outside of the Ascendancy knew him as well as Cadet Vanto. 

A part of his mind that had been slowly growing no matter how he tried to force it back, put in that as his speaker Eli would come to know him better than even those he had left behind. 

It was this mess of thoughts that led to Thrawn standing outside Deenlark's office during Eli's last test. 

"Something I can do for you, Cadet?" Deenlark asked in a biting tone. One hand taps against his desk, in either agitation or impatience. His eyes are narrowed, but unlike their first meeting he seems more wary than angry. 

"Indeed. I understand you have some authority when it comes to the graduating class's new orders."

Deenlark leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms, though it seemed more habit than hostility. "If you're trying to barter your way into a better position, than I have to warn you; I get offers from people a lot higher up the chain than you every day, and they all get turned down. Just like you will be."

Thrawn nodded, "Not an offer. Merely a discussion."

Deenlark snorted, "This should be good. Okay let's hear it."

Thrawn had already made his decision before arriving, but he still paused to consider his words. Basic could be a stubborn and tricky language at times.

"As you said, you are in a position to make certain decisions. I do not doubt that sentients come to you for more than just ship assignments. I imagine that after the incident a month ago you are being watched rather closely."

Deenlark grunted, his jaw shifting as if he had something in his teeth.

"As the person responsible, you can not be seen to favor myself or Cadet Vanto without repercussions, but you can not recommend a punishing position because I have the eyes of the Emperor." Thrawn continued.

"And I suppose you have a recommendation?"

"A possible solution, yes. My suggestion is that you do exactly as you normally would."

Deenlark lifted his hands in mockery. "Genius," he said before his face contorted into a scowl, "Was there anything else?"

"Yes, I was not finished. It is not the posting that you should alter. It is the location." Thrawn kept his tone even, standing at parade rest, showing all respect, despite his words.

Deenlark spread his hands on the desk in front of him. "Explain."

"Send us, both of us, to the outer rim. We are both fluent in several trade languages, put us on a ship where that skill will be of use. The outer rim is a dangerous place. Accidents may happen. At the very least one can not play at politics from so far a distance. It should be enough to appease those who would put pressure on you."

Deenlark rubbed at the bristle starting to grow on his chin. "Both of you. You want Vanto with you."

Thrawn nodded. "His skills would be as useful on the rim as mine. I have no doubt that he would be more comfortable there. If I understand correctly any Coruscant native would see it as him returning to where he belongs."

"True enough. certain people would feel quite justified if they heard that. But there are plenty of ships patrolling the rim. Why should I recommend you to the same ship?"

Thrawn paused again studying the other man. At last he spoke, "When I spoke to the emperor, and offered my services, I only asked for one thing.I'm sure you understand that having someone you trust at your back is no small thing." It was closer to the truth then he had come since meeting Eli Vanto and agreeing not to act on their words. Still He respected Deenlark, the man had been put in a difficult position and had not taken it out on the outsiders. He deserved a part of the truth at least. 

Deenlark looked him over one last time, "I'll consider your recommendation. Dismissed."

Tharn turned on his heel and left. Crossing back to the dorms he wondered what Eli's reaction would be. He had given his first report to the Emperor, thanking him for Vanto's continued service. He had sent the first of his coded reports back the the CEDF mentioning Vanto there as well. 

A little knowledge was a dangerous thing, but he didn't have the luxury of time. He had to move forward, and trust that Eli Vanto would continue by his side.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was harder to write than others. Thrawn is too clever for me. Not sure If I can do justice writing him...


	8. Chapter 8

The Blood Crow was a good ship, mostly. Captain Virgilio was an older officer who had earned his rank in the Clone Wars. Scuttlebut had it that he'd never advanced because he was was competent but never bothered to play nice when in political circles. In fact, according to the the ship's records they hadn't put into port at Coruscant more than absolutely necessary. 

The ship was big enough that it acquired its own personality, its own habits. The crew on deck two had a weekly Sabac night where they gambled for luxuries and duty rosters. There were a pair of engineers on 8 that had a distillery that the higher ups deliberately ignored. Just like they deliberately ignored the small garden in one of the unused storage units on 3. 

The captain called Eli in after a week when he was still finding his footing.

"You wanted to see me sir?

Virgilio sat behind his desk. His office wasn't big but space was always at a premium on a ship. The captain had filled his space with small luxuries. The kind of trinkets that wouldn't mean a thing to anyone else. Eli found his eyes wandering, touching on a small clay statue, a holo of a tree on a hill, a bird made of golden glass, a small woven tapestry full of geometric patterns. There was nothing personal in the room, nothing that showed Virgilio's history. Maybe Thrawn would have been able to read something from the art the man had chosen, but Eli didn't have that talent.

Virgilio set aside the tablet he'd been reading, folded his hands in front of him and studied Eli. "You're Lieutenant Thrawn's aid."

"Yes sir," Eli said, his throat threatening to close up. If the Captain had a problem with the assignment there wasn't anything Eli could do about it. He'd known this posting would lead to trouble.

"Thrawn's record is rather sparse." He waited, but Eli had learned that lesson and didn't respond. Eventually the Captain went on, "there's a note that the Emperor himself ordered his entry to the Imperial Academy, and you with him."

"Yes sir." The words still tasted sour after all this time. Thrawn dragging Eli behind him for a second time didn't help either. 

"What can you tell me about him?"

Eli hesitated, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean sir."

Virgilio turned in his chair so he was facing the wall with the tree holo. "Are you old enough to remember the Clone wars at all?"

Eli licked his lips, glancing at the holo, and back to his captain. Was the change of subject some kind of trick? "Not really sir. I remember, my family did a salvage run at one point, but that's all I really saw."

Virgilio brushed it away, "Well, never mind then. My point is that back then the senate, and the Jedi and a lot of people who had no business leading men in combat wanted to have a say in things. I want to know if Thrawn is worth all the fuss or if he needs someone to hold his hand. Seeing as you're the person who has been holding his hand up to now I thought I'd be direct." 

Eli nodded slowly, "I see." He tried to gather his thoughts. "Well I don't think you need to be worried sir. Thrawn may not have grown up here, but he's sharp. He picks up things incredibly fast, even with little things that you wouldn't think mattered. Like, the language thing, I barely have to translate anything anymore and it's been less than four months." Eli could have given dozens of examples. There were the impressive ones like with the card game and the rank bar, but there were others that were more subtle. Anything from the maintenance droid schedule to the times the caff in the dining hall was refilled to the habitation levels in the city proper. Thrawn was amazing like that, and more importantly he didn't flaunt it. There was no ego, even when Eli didn't understand, he just laid out the logic. And there was always logic behind his actions. He never just lashed out in anger...

Eli pulled himself back to the moment. 

"I suppose someone could be maneuvering, but if so, it's not him. If you're honest with him, he'll be honest with you." Thrawn hadn't even denied that he'd manipulated things to get Eli here. He had been backed into a corner though, not much point in denying it.

Virgilio ran his hand over his short beard, "The way you've described him, it doesn't sound like he needs an aid." The 'so why are you here?' hung unspoken in the air.

"I--" Eli stopped, his jaw clenched shut. He'd faced a lot of long odds in his short time in the military. He's had to work for everything he had, and put up with people sneering at him the whole way. He didn't have money, he wasn't core-born, he didn't know anyone important, about the only thing he did have going for him was that he was human. If the crew of the Blood Crow heard the old rumors, he wouldn't even have that.

Eli could feel his blood pounding in his clenched fists as he forced himself to stay at parade rest.

"Orders, sir." He snapped off, not meeting Virgilio's eyes. 

"Yes, orders," the captain picked up his datapad. "I've already spoken to Thrawn about this, and I want to make it clear to you as well. My ship may seem lax in some areas but I only allow it because my people know their jobs and do them well. Since there won't be much for you to do as aid to our second weapons officer I'll expect you to make yourself available to all senior staff. I see you also have supply officer training so report to Sr. Lieutenant Murphy regarding any training or certifications he thinks will be useful. Do we have an understanding?"

"And then he just dismissed me," Eli said two hours later. He'd told Thrawn the whole thing, because it wasn't like he had anyone else to confide in. Thrawn had listened patiently for the first five minutes, then led him down to the gym. Eli had never been one to punch out his anger but he had to admit, hitting the bag while imagining every face that had ever taunted him felt good.

"Just like that. Like he doesn't expect anything." Eli hit the bag again, grunting with the effort.

"Maybe he doesn't," Thrawn had stripped down to his undershirt, and was now holding the bag. "He has given you your orders so he is now covered if you choose to disobey, or-" Thrawn ran his tongue over his lips as he waited for the Eli to throw the next punch, "slack off."

Eli shifted his eyes to Thrawn for a half second, then refocused on the bag. "Krif that." He put his shoulder into the next punch. "I'll show him just like everyone else. I. deserve. to be here." He punctuated his words with more strikes and ended up nearly panting.

"You do deserve to be here." Thrawn stepped forward, leaving the bag rocking on its stand as he put a hand on Eli's shoulder. "Whatever you feel you must do, I will do my best to aid you."

Eli looked up into those strange red eyes, and nodded slowly. "Thanks. I-- I guess I needed this." He took a deep breath and let it out focusing on slowing his pulse.

\---

Thrawn had never bothered to count the number of ships he'd served on or commanders he'd served under. The Blood Crow was of course different from the CEDF in many ways, but in others it was what he had come to expect from his chosen profession. They got their orders, they patrolled, they escorted important equipment, or less often, people. They spent weeks at a time out in the black, before making port for a few days at a base or station, only to do it all again. 

Vanto's determination to earn his place had served him well. The other officers had quickly realized what Thrawn already knew: that Eli was a dedicated individual, with an array of talents he hadn't fully recognized yet. Supply in particular welcomed Vanto with open arms after he found an error in their records that would have caused quite a bit of embarrassment.

Thrawn's own situation was not solved so easily. He did his job and he did it well. He had respect, but it was always tinged with caution. Vanto was the only one to spend time with him outside of their duties. Thrawn wasn't sure if it was habit or compassion. 

It was less then he would have hoped for, but it was enough. He could keep his oath, both to his people and to Vanto. 

When their first leave came, a few months into their posting, Thrawn was not surprised to find himself at loose ends. They were currently docked at Ringo Vinda. The planet itself was uninhabitable but rich in mineral resources. At some point several decades past, the mining guild had created a space station in the planet's orbit. Over the years the station had been expanded until it circled the planet. A ring several decks high, in which a being could walk around the world. Or at least that was the boast. 

There was maintenance that the Thunder Wasp needed and everyone not involved had been told to talk shore leave, keep themselves out of trouble, and report back in two days. Thrawn finished his paperwork, before slipping onto the station with the rest of the crew. 

The station was both like and unlike the empire ships he had been on. The ceilings were higher, to permit either the large loading droids or non-human sentients, possibly both. The walls were the same mat-gray as the thunder wasp, but unlike the ship here graffiti and grime could be seen in the darker corners and brightly painted signs, and neon advertised the different services and shops available. In some ways it was like Coruscant but without the politics to pander to. ****

Several of the officers Thrawn had been following turned off the main thoroughfare, headed towards a cantina that was already much louder then the shops surrounding it. Thrawn frowned, it wasn't early, but it wasn't late enough for that level of revelry in his opinion. He could join them and not drink. The other officers might even welcome him after a bit of intoxication. Certainly the civilians present would encourage them to close ranks.

No. Thrawn shook his head. He didn't need allies so badly that he had to debase himself to earn them. Instead he turned and started walking. The main hall went on and on ahead of him, blast doors every forty feet marking distance until they blurred together with the curve of the station. It wasn't quiet, voices echoing off the unforgiving metal walls in basic and a handful of trade languages, yet it still set him at ease.

Thrawn noticed the scorch marks on the walls, but they were years old, covered by grime and the tracks of droids. The people around him were moving faster, heads down. something in the air had changed. It felt like there was a smell he couldn't quite place, and the atmo-recyclers had to be set to maximum. Thrawn stepped out of the flow of traffic, looking around casually. The storefronts here were all closed up with no sign of even squatters or scavengers.

"Know much about the Clone Wars, do ya?"

Thrawn turned to see an old Dug stroking his muzzle. The sentient was dressed as a mechanic, grease stains on the fabric and a spanner tucked into his belt. 

"I know a bit," Thrawn admitted. The Dug wasn't a threat, but he couldn't tell why he'd been singled out.

The dug looked him over, then gestured at the old blaster-burns on the walls. "There was a battle here, right around the end of the war. Lots of clones, even a few Jedi, all right here in sector 39. One of the Jedi died. They say that kind of thing leaves an echo, that you can hear it, feel it, even now."

Thrawn turned to look at the blaster burns on the walls. He'd never had a chance to study a lightsaber. He wondered if those marks would be different. He'd seen evidence of the force, but that didn't mean he believed in ghosts, still... 

Before Thrawn could decide on a response a familiar voice spoke for him. "Right, and I'm sure for a small fee you could show us the exact spot." Vanto snorted, knocking his shoulder against Thrawn's "Come on, this guy's just pulling your leg."

Thrawn chose to address the element he was most familiar with, "Pull my leg?"

"Trying to get one over on you. Play you for a fool, and probably rob you at the same time."

The dug held up his forelimbs, "You wound me. I'm just trying to make my way in the galaxy, but if you're interested in that kind of thing I could--"

"We're not. Come on Thrawn." Vanto wrapped an arm around Thrawn's shoulder and steered him back towards the ship. Thrawn didn't even try to protest, he was too distracted by the heat of his Speaker so close, the wry smile Vanto was wearing as he tossed his head back.

"You've got to be more careful man. I grew up in places like this and let me tell you they will try to take everything you've got if they think you don't know what you're doing."

"And you came to rescue me?" Thrawn didn't think about the words. He couldn't let himself, not with Vanto so close, pressed shoulder to shoulder.

He shrugged, "I saw you head this way. Call me curious."

Thrawn nodded. Of course it would be nothing more than that. Curiosity, not affection or worry. Not that Thrawn wanted Eli to worry over him. 

He pushed aside the notion. "You do not have to waste your leave with me. I promise not to get into any trouble I can't get out of."

Vanto huffed out a quiet laugh. "See, if you were anyone else I might believe that."

Thrawn shifted, turning towards Vanto and tilting his head, "You think I invite trouble?"

"I think it finds you whether you invite it or not. Besides, this isn't a battlefield" Vanto didn't put any additional space between them as he would have on the ship. His shoulders were relaxed, weight back on his heels with his head tipped back, exposing the curve of his throat. He was out of uniform, wearing a dark canvas jacket and pants that clung to his legs.

"You look different."

Vanto glanced down at himself. His expression shifted, his mouth curving down, his eyes widening a fraction.

"Not bad different." Thrawn went on. He wasn't quite sure how to describe it. His mental image of Vanto was of him in uniform. Even after having lived with the man, the walls erected between them had denied any intimacy. Vanto looked up at him, his expression shifting again. Now there was a light in his eye, and a pinch at the side of his mouth, where he was biting his lip; either considering or trying to hide a smile.

"Yeah, well, you look the same. All this time and you never picked up a set of civs?"

"Civs?"

"Civilian clothes. Something for your days off."

Thrawn shrugged. The clothes he had now were perfectly serviceable. They did not hinder his movement and temperature wasn't a factor in his daily life. Empire fashion wasn't something he was interested in. 

Vanto shook his head, "I should have guessed. Come on, They've got a couple of decent places around here. Noting fancy mind you, but they'll have more than spacer's gear." Vanto's hand caught his elbow, then slid down Thrawn's arm as he turned. Thrawn was caught off guard when their fingers laced together. That was something that had come up in his research. It was meant for couples. He opened his mouth, trying to work through the basic to ask what he wanted, but Eli was already walking, pulling him along through the crowd. 

Was he wrong? Was there an extra level of cultural nuance that allowed this intimacy? Vanto had made his boundaries clear, and had not broached the subject again since that first time all those months ago. Was it simply expediency? That he thought Thrawn would fall behind?

Thrawn quickened his step. There wasn't enough room to walk beside Vanto, but he easily stayed a step behind. Vanto did not release his hand. Eventually Vanto spotted what he was looking for and pulled him into a quiet shop with racks of clothing tucked into the walls. Thrawn hesitated. There weren't any other customers to watch and he was still relatively inexperienced when it came to many every day matters outside the military. Either Vanto sensed his hesitation or had been planning on taking control from the start. 

He flagged down a small hovering tailor-droid. "My friend needs a decent set of clothes, you got anything that will fit him?" A quick flash of light showed the droid was scanning him, then it beeped and bobbed in the air.

Vanto squeezed his hand. "Come on, they'll have something that will at least be close, then if you want to wait you can get it tailored to fit. Most places like this can do something like that in an hour or so."

As grateful as he was for Vanto's continued presence he still had to ask, "Are you certain? A small station like this can't possibly carry enough stock to service the number of races and builds that come through here."

Vanto nodded, a half smile on his face, "Oh sure, but you're close enough to human standard. You won't get much selection but they'll have three or four choices in the back. The stuff out here is all second hand or specialized. Sometimes you can find a good deal. Do you want to look around?"

Thrawn glanced at the racks of hanging fabric and leather, then back to Vanto. their hands were still laced together. "No, I trust you."

Vanto smiled, "All right than, let's see what they've got."

Vanto hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said the selection would be small. There were three potential outfits and all of them would need to be tailored to be at all comfortable. The first was a poor imitation of core-world fashion: two long pieces of fabric that snapped together into a formless top and hung nearly to his knees. He dismissed that one without even seeing the simulation. The next offering was a fairly loose linen shirt that was clearly intended to be an under-layer for some kind of blaster-harness or armor. It would have been serviceable if the third option hadn't made Vanto's eyes go wide. The last was white Alderaanian silk that likely would have cost quite a bit even if the shop wasn't marking things up. it was designed to hang to his hips with an open neck, and sleeves that ended just below his elbows. There were little geometric patterns embroidered on the edges. the thread was just enough to catch the light, glittering like snow. The dark pants that could patch either of the latter shirts was almost an afterthought.

"You look good in white," Vanto said. His voice was odd. His throat worked once before heat gathered in his face and he looked away. 

"I will take it," Thrawn said, gesturing to the droid to cancel the clothing simulation.

The droid beeped happily and tried to duck away, but Vanto blocked it's path. His face was quickly returning to normal as he spoke.

"Hold up, how much? What? That's theft." Thrawn let Vanto haggle with the droid until they worked out what Vanto considered a fair deal. Thrawn didn't really care, the clothing made Vanto happy, and it wasn't like he had much else to spend his wages on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spend a ridiculous amount of time thinking about different industries in the SW universe and how having a customer base that combines multiple species would drastically change things....


	9. Chapter 9

Eli had known Thrawn a little under two years. Thrawn was clever, a genius when it came to tactics, blunt when it came to social situations, and manipulative whenever he didn't get his own way. No that wasn't quite right. He wasn't manipulative as much as he was insidious. If he thought he saw a problem, then he'd devise a solution and if anyone else blocked the path to that solution he'd find a way around them. Thrawn figuring out a way around Captain Virgilio in order to stay on Ansion and interrogate those pirates was perfectly in character. Thrawn dragging Eli along in his wake without any choice in the matter was also in character as much as he hated to admit it. 

So Eli listened in on the interrogation, and did the background research that would support Thrawn when it came time to actually prove his theories were valid. He put together the paperwork when the court martial came down the line. It was his job. Eli wasn't sure if he was angry that Thrawn was getting dragged through the mud, or that he was getting dragged along with him. 

Then they were headed back to Coruscant and Thrawn was once again the center of attention. They spent several days before ascension week applying to various offices and filling out paperwork and looking up old cases for presidents that might be used in their favor. Or at least, that's what Eli did. Colonel Yularen was escorting Thrawn through his own set of hoops. Hoops that didn't require a translator.

Colonel Yularen was turning into a good ally. Thrawn would likely climb a lot higher with his help, especially when compared to an outer-rim hic like Eli. 

Eli told himself he wasn't jealous. after all how could he be jealous when he was still angry at Thrawn for not talking to him before he put both their careers at risk. 

For four days, he barely saw Thrawn, despite the fact that they'd been put up in the same sweet in the naval barracks. It got to the point where he was actually surprised when Thrawn asked him to come along to the ascension week parties. It wasn't that he especially wanted to go, more that he didn't want to get left behind. Everyone saw Thrawn, but he'd done just as much work, even if he wasn't in command. 

Eli let out a breath and started to run a hand through his hair, before remembering the gel he'd used to make it stay in place for once. This particular party was about what he'd come to expect. There were a lot of people who had fancy titles and lots of money. They were all trying to talk circles around each other, looking for openings like these events were just a different type of battlefield. It was impressive enough if you liked glitter and expensive alcohol, but not his cup of tea. 

"Is something wrong?" Thrawn asked in a low tone. Everyone else had seemingly forgotten Eli was there. As a lowly lieutenant everyone with any proper rank let their eyes pass over him.

Eli shook his head and tried for a smile, "It's fine."

"You are uncomfortable."

Eli fought not to roll his eyes. "Well this isn't really for me is it?"

Thrawn pursed his lips, then switched to Sy Bisti. Something he hadn't done in months, not even to ask for vocabulary. Eli followed his lead.

"Will you tell me if something is wrong?"

Eli looked down at the drink in his hand. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He nearly ran a hand though his hair again but the feeling of the gel reminded him not to. 

"You need to be here, or at least the Colonel thinks you need to be here and he would know, but you don't need me. not for this. Every time I open my mouth I just underline how out of place I am and that you're not human."

They were starting to get strange looks from the guests nearby. Some of them were looking down their noses, others just seemed puzzled by the strange language. Eli ducked his head. It only served to prove his point. Thrawn noticed it too. He turned back to Colonel Yularen.

"Something has come to my attention. I must step away for a moment," Thrawn said in basic. 

Yularen didn't even glance at Eli as he nodded, "There are private com stations set up in the back if it's confidential."

Thrawn nodded for Eli to follow him as he extricated himself from the group. There were indeed a series of small private rooms set up near the back of the hall. Eli was fairly sure the muffled sounds coming from the first one had more to do with drunken passions than confidential conversations, but it wasn't like Eli hadn't dealt with rumors before. Not that anyone in this crowd cared about a nobody like him enough to spread rumors...

Thrawn palmed the door closed behind them and engaged the sound dampeners. The room was small, but comfortable, with a full holo-sweet set up in the middle with three sedate but comfortable chairs placed around it. Eli gratefully set his untouched drink aside and slumped into the nearest seat.

Thrawn settled into the chair next to him more slowly and asked again, "will you tell me?"

"There's nothing to tell." Eli glanced at Thrawn, then away again. They were both wearing their uniforms, but in the low light Thrawn's eyes were glowing making all his features more striking. 

Thrawn waited. His attention was fixed, unwavering, and Eli knew he could wait it out. Thrawn always waited for the right moment to strike. Eli just wasn't sure what kind of attack was coming.

"Please speak to me."

Eli sat back in his chair. Whatever he'd expected it wasn't that. Thrawn's eyes softened, but he didn't look away or take the words back. Eli could feel his face going red. Why he still reacted like this after two years... He let out a breath.

"I- I guess I'm worried."

"About the court martial?"

"Yeah... no..." Eli shook his head. "I don't know. IT's not that I don't like serving with you. I do, most of the time. I just..." Eli looked up at Thrawn willing the right words to come. "Do you know why I'm so good with numbers? I'm good at predicting them. I'm good at seeing trends."

"You are," Thrawn nodded, a faint smile tugging on his lips.

"Yeah, well, this? All this? You... I can't predict you. If you lose that case next week and get kicked out of the navy I have no idea what will happen to me. I'm so far from the path I thought my life was going to go that I know I can't get back, not after all this time. And the strange thing is, I'm not sure I want to. I have no idea where my life is going and I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it." Eli realized his hands were weaving through the air. He hadn't expected to say that, not any of it. 

Thrawn leaned forward and put his hand on Eli's knee. Eli let his hands fall, staring down at the blue hand. 

"It it true that there are times when we can not see the path forward, but I can promise you, you will not be left behind. I have always done my best to keep you with me, even if it may seem selfish, even if you hate me for it. I do not intend to change that now."

Eli wanted to ask why. Except he knew why, or he could guess. His words were right there on the arm that Thrawn was using to comfort him. Thrawn had never pushed, but he'd never looked at anyone else either. He'd spent two years walking the very edge of the line Eli had drawn in the sand. 

He'd been selfish too in his own way, taking everything Thrawn offered and never giving anything back. Even now, here he was worried over his career when Thrawn could end up in prison if things went badly enough. Stars knew it was almost impossible for a non-human to get decent work in the core. At least if things went bad Eli had his family to fall back on. Thrawn had nothing and no one, except him.

Eli put his hand over Thrawn's and squeezed lightly. It didn't solve anything, but it still helped somehow. 

The door chime sounded. Thrawn frowned. He squeezed Eli's hand as he rose, to answer it. Colonel Yularen glanced over both of them, assessing. Eli couldn't tell what conclusion he came to, but his tone was even when he spoke to Thrawn.

"If you're finished, there are a few more people I'd like you to meet."

Thrawn nodded. Half turning he tilted his head. Eli took a breath, then stood. He straightened his uniform, and followed Thrawn back into the glitter and finery of the Coruscant elite.


	10. Chapter 10

Thrawn's new rank and his command of the Thunder Wasp came with an amount of freedom he hadn't properly known since he'd left the Ascendancy. There were still patrols, and orders and politics, but in the day to day his was the only order that mattered. The crew was hesitant to accept him at first, but after two years he knew competence and recognition would win the crew over.

So, they went pirate hunting. 

Nightswan was a tempting target, and certainly worth keeping an eye out for, but there were plenty of pirates in the outer rim that weren't connected to him, and if he was going to be honest Thrawn didn't want to face Nightswan again with an untested crew. 

When the call from Akiva came in a month after they'd left Coruscant, Thrawn knew he was not the only one eager for the chase. 

Thrawn was able to determine that the crew was mainly made up of Rodian's from the reports alone. Many of the standard and repeated tactics displayed their tendency to think in paired triads. He doubted however that the captain was a Rodian. Most of the ships they had attacked had been just on the edges of censor range. It was a tactic favored by many Corelians, and while that alone was not proof of species, pirate groups that consisted of sestiants with multiple planetary origins tended to fall into one of a few patterns. In this case it was easy to imagine a more flamboyant Corelian, grabbing the attention of a group of Rodians.  
  
He mentioned his theory during the initial briefing to his command crew with limited success. As eager as they all were, his first officer, and those below her were still used to the way their old captain had operated. At the end of the meeting Eli caught his eye, and less than an hour later Thrawn found several samples of Rodian art, and a summary report on their biology on his datapad. The report had been shared with all senior staff, the art had not.  
  
Vanto had long ago earned his place, and no one at their new posting would ever question a captain having an aide. Still, Thrawn saw those signs in Eli's desperate competence. He resolved to speak to Vanto once their current situation was resolved, and make sure that he was settling in. There was a familiar thrum of want as he penned the reminder. The old desire to have his speaker as more than a companion and subordinate. Thrawn knew he had pushed those boundaries more than he should have. Vanto had made his boundaries clear at the beginning. Until Vanto said otherwise, Thrawn would respect that.  
  
It was not all that difficult a the Pirates out. Their established pattern held true right up until they were faced with a dozen armed storm troopers in the disguised vessel. Thrawn listened to the general calm channel from the bridge of the Thunder Wasp, nodding along as his deductions were proven correct and the first round of combatants were eliminated.  
  
The Correlian showed his colors by sending out a signal scrambler and a number of decoys to let them escape. The tactic would have been enough if they had been following standard Imperial procedure. Instead, Thrawn didn't bother splitting his forces. He already had the angle of their entry, as well as the location of all their past attacks. By the time their ship landed on the second moon of Bodkuhd IV his troops were waiting for them.  
  
Hardly a challenge, and certainly nothing night swan would be involved in, but Thrawn understood the value of a victory in terms of a ships morality, and cohesion. He personally accepted the pirates surrender, and they were led away with all the formality that would've been expected on Coruscant.  
  
Thrawn watched until the Pirates were out of sight, and his crew had been dismissed to their duties, then turned to the Pirate's ship. He had 12 minutes before he was missed. 

The craft was a well used Corellian CR90, too small for a proper shipping vessel, but fast enough for what they needed. The cockpit had room for a pilot, copilot, and two gunners. Since the Thunder Wasp would be escorting the prisoners back to Akiva, this ship would be flagged, retrieved, and eventually impounded most likely by contractors.

Thrawn unclipped his rank plaque, definitely remove the small data chip, and slid it into the console. The uploaded program would work on a slight delay, tapping into the ship's internal communications to broadcast a prerecorded signal out into unknown space. From the beginning, everyone had known that Thrawn's mission would require long periods of silence. This was only the 9th message he had sent in over two years. The opportunity simply did not come up very often. He made sure that the secondary program would erase all evidence, then retrieved his data chip and turned back to the door.  
  
Vanto stood there silent and unmoving. His jaw was clenched, his lips pressed together in a frown, and his eyes were fixed firmly on the chip in Thrawn's hand.

"What is this?"  
  
Thrawn didn't answer. In truth he wasn't sure what to say. How much had Vanto seen? What conclusions was he drawing? Thrawn took a step forward, his hand falling to his side. Vanto's eyes followed the chip before slowly rising to meet Thrawn's own.   
  
Unlike many of their fellows, Thrawn had never mistaken Vanto for unintelligent. 

Vanto's face fell. "After all this time… It's since the beginning isn't it? And I never noticed. Always gave you the benefit of the doubt. They all said you had to be a spy and I defended you. How many times did you slip away when I was asleep? Or those times when I was grateful for a little peace and quiet...?" Vanto shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair then when that apparently wasn't enough he rubbed at his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
  
For a fraction of a second Thrawn considered trying to run. Vanto was standing in the doorway, but Thrawn was confident he could overpower him. If Eli was knocked out, and the Thunder Wasp departed without him... Thrawn recoiled from the idea even as the analytical part of his mind provided it. Vanto - Eli - was the speaker of his heart. Trying to lie to your heart, to run from it, never ended well.  
  
"I have lied to you, and to the empire. Does it matter how often?"

Eli's fists clenched at his sides. "Yes! No. Frag, I don't know." He lifted a hand, as if unsure what he wanted to do with it, and ended up letting it fall to his side again. "I don't... Why? Thrawn, after everything... I don't understand." 

He could have been asking why Thrawn would stab him, there was that much pain in his voice. 

Thrawn had talked about possible discovery with Ar'alani before he'd set all this into motion. He'd hypothesized about torture, telepathy or trickery. About what he might do next after... None of his scenarios looked like this. He realized he was leaning against the pilot's chair and sank into it. He looked at the chip, such a small thing...

"Before I left the Ascendancy I was one of the most knowledgeable when it came to your people. I was fascinated, when most of my people thought you an oddity. Admittedly it was partly because of this," Thrawn turned over his wrist and ran a hand over his sleeve. Eli swayed on the spot, eyes following the motion. 

"I could tell you about the first time I met citizens of the Republic, or the time I worked with General Skywalker, but I suspect that while it is important, it would ultimately be avoiding the issue. I believe that the Empire, however flawed, is an improvement over it's predecessor. I may be a spy, but I do not want to harm you, or the people we have been protecting. I do not even want to damage the empire's government, though by now I am well aware of its faults."

"But you're still..."

Thrawn nodded, "Yes."

The silence stretched. Eli would occasionally look at Thrawn then away out the forward window, or down at the floor. He kept shaking his head slightly as if quietly denying it, to trying to wake himself up. After a few minutes his com beeped. Thrawn glanced at Eli but the other man didn't seem inclined to action. Thrawn kept his actions slow as he moved to answer.

"Captain, we are ready to depart," there was a hesitance behind the officer's voice. 

"Very good." Thrawn hesitated, then decided to continue as if everything were normal. "Ensign Vanto and I will be aboard shortly."

Eli straightened, His jaw was clenched, and his hands were once again balled at his sides. Thrawn got to his feet, looked down at the chip he still held, then offered it to his speaker. Eli took it without comment.

They returned to the Thunder Wasp in silence.

\---

It had been a week. 

It was surprisingly easy to avoid Thrawn. The ship wasn't all that big but Eli had access to his schedule. Thrawn spent all his free time in his office or his quarters, even more so then before. Hardly surprising wince Eli wasn't barging in to draw him out of his shell. 

Eli was... managing... persisting... working... 

The rest of the crew, minus Thrawn, were mostly n good spirits, the victory still fresh in their minds. More than one person had come up to Eli and asked if Captain Thrawn was always like that. Always that good. Eli tried to answer truthfully. It wasn't like the victory itself was out of character. 

Eli was... not doing great.

He filled up his waking hours with anything he could think of and then fell into his bunk at night and stared at the ceiling. The data chip Thrawn had given him sat on his table. He hadn't looked at it at first because he already knew what it was. It was evidence and if he was going to give it to... someone, then it couldn't be corrupted. Except if he didn't know what was on it then he wouldn't know who to give it to, or how much trouble they were actually in.

They...

Eli and the Empire. 

Eli and the Navy.

Eli and Thrawn.

Fuck.

Eli was... lonely.

He couldn't talk to anyone on the ship about what he'd seen. He couldn't talk to anyone outside the ship until he'd decided exactly what he was going to do. He couldn't talk to Thrawn, because he was the source of the problem. Apart from Thrawn he hadn't known anyone on the ship for longer than the few months he'd been assigned there. There wasn't anyone he could reach out to from his previous postings. There wasn't anyone waiting at home, not since his family had made it clear that they disapproved of Thrawn.

Your soulmate was supposed to be the person who always stood by you. Who you could trust absolutely. Who knew you better than you knew yourself. And sure a good chunk of that was romance novel level exaggeration, but it still seemed impossible to get here from there. 

Thrawn was his soulmate. He should know what this would look like. He should know how hard he'd made everything about Eli's life since they'd met, and that this would be that one step too far. He should know how much it hurt.

Thrawn was his soulmate.

Eli rolled over and shoved his face into his pillow. He wasn't sure if he wanted to scream, cry, or suffocate himself. It was halfway through the night cycle. The data chip sat pointedly on his table.

It had been a week. 

He didn't want this to be the rest of his life.

Eli slid out of bed, picked up the chip, and slid it into his terminal. 

Ten minutes later Eli marched into Thrawn's private quarters, slapped at the wall where the light panel should have been - the light's didn't turn on - and said "This is all in Cheunh you ass," in a voice that wasn't really a shout but would definitely wake Thrawn up.

Thrawn shifted, slowly sitting up. The glow from his eyes and his white sleep shirt was all Eli could really see. He tossed the data chip at Thrawns chest. 

"Also your lights are broken. What the hell?"

"I reprogrammed them for the inferred," Thrawn said slowly. He blinked a few times, and when he went on his voice was clearer. "You didn't look at it until now?"

"I-- no." Eli's eyes were adapting to the darkness. He was able to tell when Thrawn smoothed out the blanket, picking at the fabric in an obvious nervous tic, that he never would have allowed himself normally.

Thrawn picked up the data chip, "I could read it to you if you'd like, but you'd only have my word on what it said."

"Yeah well, not like anyone I could give it to would know what it said either," Eli admitted. 

Thrawn hesitated, "Then you haven't told anyone?"

"No." It came out in a single gusty breath, his shoulders going loose all at once. The dark was helping. Logically he knew that Thrawn could see him, but it was easier to talk like this. To just pretend. 

"I thought about it. I nearly did. I'm still really pissed, but can't just-- You're the smartest man I know. You could run circles around me if you wanted to, but you just handed it over. I almost wish you'd lied to me. I would have believed you if you'd just told me you were logging something or, I don't know. Maybe I wouldn't have, but I'd have gone along with it because I trust you. And instead you just handed everything over and I can't-- I can't just choose to turn you in. I know it'd be the right thing to do, or maybe the thing anyone else would do, but I can't just throw it away either." Eli forced himself to take a breath, and Thrawn spoke softly into the gap.

"Because I trust you as well."

Eli met his eyes for the first time since he'd entered the room, possibly the first time since he'd caught him of the pirate's ship. 

"If I'm going to trust you after this, I need to know everything. I need to know that this isn't going to happen again. I need to know what you're thinking. That you..."

Thrawn waited, his hands folded in his lap. Eli couldn't tell if he was actually being considerate or if he was still just half asleep. Maybe he shouldn't have just barged in like this. Then again, if he hadn't been angry enough to barge in, he probably wouldn't have said anything at all.

"That you're not just towing me along because I'm convenient, or because I said the right words at the right time." His voice breaks. Eli knows his face must be bright red, but it's dark, and he can pretend. 

Thrawn shifts on the bed, swinging his legs down to the floor. He leaned forward to take Eli's hand rather than standing properly. For some reason that's easier, more intimate, like the dark. Thrawn is normally taller than him, but their whole relationship recently had been turned on it's head, so why not this too.

"I think of you every day. When you are not at my side I wonder what you would say. I watch you do amazing things and never get credit for them, and keep doing them anyway. I remember every small thing you have taught me not because I am clever, but because I treasure each moment, each word."

Eli made a sound that was nowhere near being a proper word in any of the languages he speaks. Just a whine in his throat, that he couldn't afford to be embarrassed by, not now. Thrawn tugged at his hand, guiding him to sit on the bed beside him. He never let go of Eli's hand as he went on.

"I don't know what I did that first day to upset you. I'd been looking for you for so long, and then there you were but you wanted me to lie. I know the Empire dislikes non-humans, and if that is my sin there is nothing I can do to change it."

"No," Eli's voice sounded strange, like someone else was speaking though him, "It wasn't you. nothing you did. It was just me being a stupid cadet and trying to bluff my way through a mess I'd stumbled into."

Thrawn hummed. His eyes were like soft red pools in the darkness. "Would you have me then, as a proper match, or is it too late for that?"

"I--" Eli wasn't sure what to say. Was Thrawn actually attracted to him? Soulmates didn't always mean there would be a physical relationship, and after the academy Eli had kind of assumed that Thrawn was ether Asexual or only interested in his own kind.

"Have you been waiting for me?"

Thrawn squeezed his hand, "I had already waited years to meet you. A bit more time seemed a small thing, if it was time spent with you beside me."

"Fuck," Eli slumped over until his head was resting on Thrawn's shoulder. "I'm still really pissed at you, and we're going to have a really long talk after I've had some sleep, but yeah. The rest of it... I want that. You're my soulmate." He wasn't sure he could find the right words for the rest of it. The physical side, the relationship side, but it didn't seem like Thrawn needed it, because he leaned in brushed his lips over Eli's and then pulled back just far enough that their noses brushed past each other. 

"I can agree to that. Will you stay?"

Eli considered the bed, considered how emotionally drained he was, and slowly nodded. Thrawn guided him under the covers, and lay down beside him. Each touch was hesitant, soft enough that Eli knew Thrawn was considering each one carefully. Eli thought he should probably do the same, but a week of long days had finally caught up with him, and he drifted off before he could do anything about it. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be aware everyone, The rating has gone up.

It took time, but luckily that was something they had a surplus of.

Thrawn woke early and scheduled a private meeting between himself and Eli, so that they wouldn't be disturbed, and if it gave Eli a chance to sleep a bit late than that was hardly a bad thing.

They spoke over a light breakfast. Thrawn did most of the talking, explaining his theories of an enemy from the depths of space that threatened both Chiss and Empire. He told Eli about Thrass and his drive to prove that they were worth something in the complicated familial hierarchy of the Ascendancy. He spoke of Ar'alani, a friend who nearly understood and had done her best by him even when he'd crossed enough lines that it should have been professional suicide.

Thrawn eventually returned to the data-chip. When Eli passed it over Thrawn pulled up every file, and dutifully read though them, explaining every word of vocabulary like Eli had done for him so many times before.

Whey they had finished they were past due on the bridge. Eli left without giving his opinion or judgement.

That was fine. Thrawn trusted Eli. He trusted his speaker to see the logical outcomes of each coarse of action. He himself had guided Eli in his tactical thinking since their time at the academy. Still he couldn't stop himself from watching his aid all through the day. Any time they were both on the bridge Eli would not meet his eye, and Thrawn had trouble giving his full attention to the tasks at hand. No one commented, but that was likely only due to how often he watched Eli for other reasons. 

By the end of the day, Thrawn was ready to retreat into his rooms and sequester himself. The solar lights on the majority of the ship were irritating his eyes, and the constant tension of his revelation had left the muscles in his neck tense. 

He hoped Eli would inform him of his eventual decision, but it was possible that he would merely turn everything over to the ISB and quietly separate himself from the equation...

He was halfway through his nightly ritual, the lights tuned to inferred, and his uniform jacket already neatly folded when the chime for his door sounded. The door was keyed to open for Eli without Thrawn's input so he was caught standing by the bed without time to compose himself. 

Eli blinked and squinted as he stepped inside, biting at his lip. His hands twitching at his sides. The knowledge that Eli was as nervous as he was eased the tension in Thrawn's chest a fraction.

"Lights to 30%" Thrawn said, and the rooms automated systems silently obeyed. Eli's eyes found his own.

"Umm, Hi."

"Hello," Thrawn hesitated, "Was there..."

Eli started to nod, then shrugged and scratched at the back of his neck. 

"Yeah, I-- I've been thinking. I guess I wanted to talk to you..."

Thrawn sat on the bed, gesturing Eli to take the chair. Eli perched on the edge of it. His hands were wrinkling the fabric of his pants as he gripped his knees. 

"I have a few things to say, and a few conditions, and I need you to not interrupt me until I'm done." He met Thrawn's eye and he nodded. "Right so, I know that you're trying to protect your people, and that you've had disagreements with them in the past. I know that they didn't like the Republic and don't know what to think about the Empire. From what you said they probably wouldn't attack us first, but the Empire is highly military, so they're not likely to trust us either. 

"The way I figure it, the Emporor would have started expanding before too long and we'd have eventually run into the Chiss. Now that might have been fine, or it might have kicked off another war. So you, being here, it's probably a good thing. If anyone in the navy runs into the Chiss they're going to think of you first, and you've made a hell of an impression in the core, even if it's not always the most politic.

"So not starting another war is a good thing, and if you were an ambassador that would be exactly what this was. Except you're not an ambassador. Which is probably a good thing because you'd be terrible at it, and a whole lot of people would be dead because you weren't there to take care of things. 

"Anyway, I've decided not to turn you in to ISB, but only on the conditions that you teach me Cheunh, and I get to review everything you send to the Ascendancy to make sure you're not giving away tactical secrets. You get to protect your home and I get to protect mine. Sound fair?"

Thrawn waited to be sure Eli was finished before he spoke. "I would be happy to agree to those terms. Was there anything else?"

"No, well, kind of?" Eli's face was glowing. He still looked uncertain, but now he kept glancing at Thrawn then away, shifting in his seat. "I wanted to know if-- well, I mean. What do soulmates, speakers, mean to the Chiss? Because there are a few stories where you, or your people, fall in love, or at least, become lovers. Except you said over half the stories were nonsense--" Eli bit his lip as if forcing himself to stop talking.

Thrawn found that he couldn't speak. His throat had gone dry and the air seemed too thin. "Eli--" He stopped and had to try again. "Do you want that?" He wanted the answer to be yes. HE dearly, dearly wanted the answer to be yes, but he wouldn't push. not now, not when Eli had already offered so much.

Eli let out a gusty breath. "Yes? Krif Thrawn, I've been attracted to you since day one. You were just different from anything I could imagine and you were turning my world upside down. I didn't know what to do. and then by the time things settled down, you were my superior officer and there were regulations and I was still angry about the assignment and... well you get the idea. But if you want that, then yes. I want it."

Thrawn stood and crossed to stand in front of Eli. "I would like to kiss you now."

Eli swallowed and nodded, "Okay."

Eli';s lips were soft as they gave under his own. Then his mouth opened and Thrawn fell into the heat of him. It was slow and cautious and their noses got in the way, but Eli's hands were on his hips tracing lines of fire. Thrawn had never gotten hard so fast in his life. By the time he was able to sway back on his heels he practically felt drunk. Eli was panting. His hair was a mess, his colar twisted around and Thrawn quietly wondered if he'd done that. 

Eli's eyes scanned over him, caught at the bulge at this waistline. Then suddenly Eli was standing, guiding him backwards until Thrawn's knees hit the bed. He let himself fall back, propped up on his elbows. The sight of Eli above him, fumbling with the catch of his jacket and pulling off his undershirt was enough to make him groan. 

"Please do not start this if you do not intend to finish it. I'm not sure I could--" Eli shut him up with another kiss. The heat of him was a firm line up Thrawn's front, skin only separated by the fabric of Thrawn's undershirt. He wanted to touch him. Wanted the shirt out of the way. Wanted Eli's skin under his hands. Thrawn had done a bit of research into human anatomy in his more hopeful or melancholy moments. It was enough to spark his imagination.

His breath caught when Eli shifted, releasing his lips in favor of attacking his neck. "Oh, Eli please, wait, I need--" 

Eli pulled back, one eyebrow lifted. "You gonna be done that quickly, or did I just find a sweet spot?"

"I'll admit that I haven't had a partner since I came here, but it's more that I'd prefer our pants weren't in the way."

Eli hummed, "I think I can manage that." He left Thrawn on the bed, suddenly bereft of Eli's warmth, and he stripped down the rest of the way. Thrawn had only just managed to undo his own belt when Eli tugged at the fabric of his pants. He kicked his underwear off a moment later. Thrawn managed to scoot up towards the headboard before Eli crawled up over him. 

"Stars, look at you," Eli muttered. "I love your skin. Blue would probably be my favorite color by now, if it wasn't for your eyes." He traced a hand down Thrawn's chest, then paused. "Your cock is supposed to do that, right?" 

Thrawn dragged his eyes away from the pattern of hair on Eli's chest to look down at his own groin. His cock wasn't fully extended, but it had started to curve up from his hips the rings standing out the same as they always did.

"Yes. Yours doesn't have the rings, correct?"

"No, and my cock definitely doesn't bend like that."

Thrawn shifted a bit more, until he could properly see between them. Eli's cock had filled out and was standing erect. It was hauntingly alluring to Thrawn's sight, Pulsing with heat, and dripping from the head. As Eli had said, it barely had any curve to it, and none of the rings Thrawn was used to. His brain started spinning into the logistics of the problem, before Eli sat up, and took both their cock's in hand. That managed to thoroughly short out every thought he might have had.

The heat of Eli's hand was matched by his cock, making Thrawn's blood sing. He gasped, arching up into that pleasure. Then Eli started stroking, fingers pressing over the ridges of his cock. 

It wasn't the most expert hand job in the world. Eli's touch was almost teasing in it's clumsiness. Thrawn found himself cursing, almost pleading for more pressure, more of a tug at the end of his stroke. The heat almost pushed it into too much. He needed to come, was desperate for it, and he had no idea if Eli was even close. 

He reached up, and managed to find Eli's shoulder, followed it up to cup the back of his neck. He wanted to drink Eli in. Needed the too-much-too-good sensation, but didn't know how to ask for it. He wasn't sure he would even manage basic at the moment. Instead he pulled Eli into a kiss, licking into his mouth,scraping his teeth across Eli's lips and tongue. 

Eli shuddered, his hand closing around both of them, Thrawn fell over the edge.

When Thrawn managed to piece the world back together Eli was leaning against him, head on his shoulder, panting through aftershocks of his own. With a bit of effort Thrawn managed to shift enough to reach the nightstand, fumbling though it until he found a packet of tissues. Eli cleaned himself up with movements that were slow and languid. He seemed boneless and utterly graceful. He leaned back, stretching as he fell back against the pillows. Thrawn's eyes followed the curve of him, eventually landing on the words, picked out on the inside of his arm.

Thrawn hesitated before touching the Sy Bisti script. All this time, and he'd never had a chance to properly see them. At first Eli's reaction had been enough and later it hadn't really mattered. 

"You know I thought your grammar was silly. When I was a kid, mean. I thought you had to be some core worlder who had no idea how to talk right."

"Well, you were half right," Thrawn allowed. He curled towards his Speaker, lacing their fingers together so their words were pressed against each other. "I was constantly frustrated that you told me the language but not your name."

Eli laughed, "Okay, but really how many people speak Sy Bisti in the Ascendancy?"

"Not including myself, about ten, and I was frustrated with every one of them before I left." Thrawn accepted the gentle kiss Eli leaned forward to give him. 

"I think I might love you," Eli whispered.

"Well, I would dearly hope so, since I have been in love with you for some time, and I do not intend to ever let you go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first time I wrote this chapter there was a fade to black, then I came back three days later and was like NOPE, these boys deserve proper smut.


	12. Chapter 12

Eli had worked beside Thrawn for almost eight years when the Batonn rebellion took place. Colonel Yularen might have had his doubts, but Eli was as confident as ever. He trusted Thrawn. It had even become something of a game for Thrawn to drop hints to his plans and Eli to try to figure them out. Even meeting with Nightswan wasn't completely unexpected.

Thrawn had come out victorious of course. 

Eli stayed on the bridge of the Chimera long after the battle had been decided, arranging all the various elements, and collating data. He saw Thrawn receive the Coruscant message but hadn't bothered to lean the contents. 

When he retreated to their adjoining rooms and found Thrawn sitting on his bed, head bent and hands clasped between his knees, he knew something was wrong, but couldn't guess what.

"Thrawn?" He asked, coming to sit beside him.

"I have been summoned back to Coruscant." His voice was even, but it still made Eli's heart sink.

"What else?" 

"I am to meet with the emperor regarding a classified project."

Eli's mind raced through the various possibilities. "The doonium? Or the outer rim?"

"Likely the former. It is not the message that worries me, but the wording, the tone..." Thrawn took a slow breath, and looked up at Eli. "I am worried that I will be put in a much more dangerous situation very soon."

As if their lives weren't dangerous as it was... Eli took a breath, and let the numbers settle in his head. "Okay, we'll come up with a plan. Whatever's coming we're strong enough to weather it."

Thrawn cupped Eli's cheek, and kissed him, soft and lingering. "I fear I tempted fate, when I said I would never let you go. If what I sense plays out..."

"We'll make a plan," Eli reiterated. "You speak to my heart, and I speak to yours. We'll find a way."

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this story for a few months now. It was supposed to be a short few thousand words, and then when I finished it, I'd get to read Treason. Now this monster is over 16000 words and still going and I still haven't read Treason...  
I thought maybe if I start posting it, I might be able to finish it and finally get to read my book.  
Edit: Well would you look at that, it worked...


End file.
